>> dana: wonderful actor. we will miss him. >> kimberly: i don't want to do the story. that's it for us. bye. thank you for watching. ♪ ♪ >> bret: triumph and tragedy for algeria for those held hostage by islamist militants. this is "special report." ♪ ♪ >> bret: good evening. i'm bret baier. we begin with the latest on the fluid situation, the hostage situation in algeria. we're awaiting for word on the fate of several americans held by terrorists. two others from the u.s. are safe tonight after a daring escape. national security correspondent jennifer griffin is at the pentagon again tonight with what is happening right now. good evening, jennifer. >> good evening, bret. the algeria rescue appears to

be over but the fate of several americans remains unclear. fox news learned two american survivors are en route to london right now. b.p. chartered a flight out of algeria for the plea employees, some of whom narrowly escaped death. kidnappers said they took dozens of hostages at the b.p. oil and gas facility in response to algeria, giving the french permission to fly to neighboring mali where the french troops are trying to push back to al-qaeda-linked rebels. >> instability in mali has created the opportunity for a staging base and safe haven for terrorists. >> more than 41 foreign oil workers were captured by the al-qaeda linked group whose leader lost an eye fighting in afghanistan. dozens of algerians were also taken and then released. it's one of the largest hostage taking incidents in recent memory. 7:00 a.m. eastern, algerian forces which surrounded the b.p. complex without telling their u.s. partners stormed

the facility using helicopter gunshigunships to strife kidnaps as they try to escape. there were casualties. up to seven americans are still missing. >> the u.s. citizens are among the hostages but we don't have at this point, more details to provide to you. we are concerned about the reports of loss of life and are seeking clarity from the government of algeria. >> the algerian government rejected offers of the u.s. help. and u.s. special operations teams remained on standby in nearby europe. unarmed u.s. drone was repositioned over the b.p. complex. >> we're kind of still there. they are still a threat. they are a threat in yemen and so mall whasomalia and threat ak in mali. >> some say the instability in mali and algeria are related to the decision to intervene in libya and overthrow moammar gadhafi whose mercenaries fled

home. >> it's clear the flame that sparked this. you can argue it could have happened anyway. but influence of well-trained fighters going in to countries with existing problems exacerbated the problems. >> at the end of the bush administration, the state department considered mali a success story, model of democracy. the foreign fighters that returned to the region after the iraq war ended caused the fight against al-qaeda to move to north africa, bret? >> bret: we will head back for breaking details. thank you. fox news learned deputy national security advisor mcdonough is expected to be named the white house chief of staff. current chief jack lew has been nominat to run the treasury department. they will have to deal with the push for gun control.

they are looking for president call for assault weapons been a and whether it has any chance of actually happening. >> they signaled that the white house is ready to start aggressive term on issues like gun control. >> we cannot be silent any longer. the children who lost their lives in newtown cannot speak for themselves. >> they are pressuring republicans, the white house aides today said he and the vice president will campaign again. to push back on the national rifle association which is vowing to launch a precious battle. >> newtown, some of the children were riddled with 11 bullet holes, hard to say it, in a first grader.

>> the west virginia senator suggested he might support banning assault weapons. >> this changed the dialogue. >> this week, manchin says not so much. >> after the president's announcement, franken's office hesitated whether he supports the ban but today he tried to clarify with a statement that seemed to hedge if he backs about wall legislation. saying i also support the principle that we should reinstate been a on assault weapons andly carefully review any proposal to do that. a top democratic senator privately told fox been a on assault weapons is a hard sale because it plays in republican charges that the president is taking guns away. >> if they don't understand the second amendment and how it applies they are willing to test it and see how much they can infringe upon it.

>> which explains why the senate democratic leader is hedging. >> is it something that can pass the senate? maybe. is it something to pass the house? i doubt it. >> gun appreciation day is saturday. they told me with the fun lobby ripping up that support, hard to get the assault weapons been a but he thinks it's doable for the president to get something less controversial like the universal background checks. >> ed henry live on the north lawn. >> the theater is reopening there with a private ceremony there. it has been renovated and renamed. the shooting victims, first responders and others have been invited to the event. some family members spoke out against the event. 12 people were killed. the man charged with the killings is awaiting trial. home construction increased 12.1% in december, fastest pace since the summer of 2008

for country and for the year. the housing starts were up 28.1%. the dow returned to positive territory, gaining 85. jobless application hit five-year low. layoff of seasonal blows were not as large as expected. house republicans are huddling in southern virginia. to come up with a strategy over the drama over the debt ceiling. continuing resolution and sequester cuts. one of them admits it's a tough situation for them. >> there is no celebration in the fact we are a nation of $16 trillion in debt. you have somebody in the white house that says to do the one thing that makes no sense whatsoever. that is raise the debt creeling with no change in the future. that is absurd argument. >> let's get more on the republican messaging from senior political analyst. brit hume. good evening.

>> hi, bret. >> the house republicans are not wrong to seek spending cut to allow borrowing by a treasury more than $16 trillion in debt. but in politics it's not enough to be right. you need to be effective. it requires recognition that politics is a team sport and being united is critical. this is true if the party controls one house of congress and the other party not only has the other one but the white house as well. consider what happened in the recent fiscal cliff end game. taxes were set to go up by law on january 1. some house republicans said they didn't block it for everyone and they could prevail. speaker boehner brought forth blocking increase for everyone but millionaires, they balked. what passed later is something conservatives like less. they opposed that, too and they lost.

some republicans are saying they have more leverage now to force spending cuts. maybe they do. but they will need to be smart about how they use it. with the senate, the white house and most of the press againstbe them, they should not expect a fair fight. >> bret: paul ryan said they need to be careful and remember what you are saying here. you had other members like congresswoman kathy mcmorris rogers in leadership saying you do need to shut down the government and make a stand. >> if the lessons of the 1990s when the republicans took control of the house tell you anything you shouldn't talk about how you are okay with shutting down the government. i said this before. people tell pollsters they want the government cut down, but they don't want the government shut down. republicans lost ground when they have done that and end up

not coming out with much. my sense is they have to pick which of the next three points of pressure is the best to use to track spending cuts. they need to stake out a position to sound reasonable and stick to that. all of them need to be saying the saying the same thing or close to the same thing. >> bret: may not be the debt ceiling. >> it could be the sequester with the forced spending cuts in law to take effect. republicans live with the defense cut it's not that -- they can live with the other cuts. >> bret: journalist has historical perspective on the fun control effort. up next, gullible or culpable? the fake girlfriend of college football superstar.

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>> bret: this is a fox news alert. new information breaking tonight on the story many of you are probably talking about. a college football superstar at the most famous of all american universities, star-crossed, ill-fated and fake romance. mike tobin is trying to put pieces together in chicago and there is fresh news. good evening. >> there is new information. particularly as we are trying to determine who is telling the truth. tao says he learned of the hoax when he got a phone call from the supposed dead girl's phone number, however, he mentioned her again if interviews subsequent to that. december 8 for website publication and then on september 11 for a newspaper. >> from sports fans to sports writers, everyone took the bait.

story of a notre dame star losing the love of his life and rebounding to play like a champion. the athletic director says no one was duped more than manti tao. >> the single most trusting human being i ever met will never trust again in his life. that is a tragedy. >> statement from tao reads in part, "to realize i was the victim of someone's sick joke and constant lies was and is painful and humiliating." if tao was a victim he certainly inflated the story on a national platform. the gestures, pointing two fingers to heaven after a big play. one for his late grandmother and one for the girlfriend he never met. no one had. still, family, friends and tao implied they did. >> i have seen the most beautiful girl i ever met. not just the physical beauty but the beauty of her character. >> the south bend tribune wrote a dripping romance tale

of the first meeting between teo and stanford in 2009. that didn't happen. deadspin.com broke the story of the hoax reports the first encounter was over twitter in 2010. they wrote of all-night phone calls and comatose kekua, increasing her breathing when w the sound of his voice. none of it happened. on the campus of notre dame, steeped in a legend and they support teo. >> i support him. i feel bad for him. it seems like an awful way for this year that was really, really magical to end. >> they link the twitter account to tuosopo who says he and teo knew each other and thousand anonymous source claim that he was probably in on the hoax. >> to be clear, so he gives two interviews after finding

out supposedly the girlfriend didn't exist. he is referring to the girlfriend. >> correct. according to the "associated press." >> all right. we'll follow it. >> thank you. >> you got it. the army corps of engineers says hundreds of levees are in danger of failing. they found more than 300 in need of urgent repair and they only surveyed 60% of the levees. specifics on where they are and what is wrong are being withheld for security reasons we're told. the skies are not friendly for boeing. they are trying to figure out what is wrong with the jewel of the fleet. >> boeing's first new plane in two decades, the harolded dreamliner was grounded yesterday by the faa. statement read "before further flight, operators of u.s. registered boeing 787 aircraft must demonstrate that

the batteries are safe. the directive comes five days after the faa announced review of the plane's electrical system. that was triggered by a battery fire on board a dreamliner parked at boston logan airport. but then flight in japan had to make manual landing, shortly after take off because of different lithium ion battery overheated and sprayed hot chemicals! so much has been invested in the development and marketing of this plane. to have it pulled out of service by, you know, every regulatory body in the world, this is a big deal. >> the airlines were scrambling to get replacement airlines in but canceled flights. a major blow to boeing that overtook air bus as number one plane maker. 787 is the most technologically advanced and fuel efficient plane ever. a statement they said we are confident the 787 is safe and

we stand behind the integrity. >> the last time they grounded a plane was after a fatal crash grounding dc-10. it could be weeks before they pinpoint the problems and most likely months before they are back in the air. >> first we have an exclusive. we ride along with commando team. >> behind me are hidden half a dozen command dose, heavily armed and ready to pounce on prey they have been waiting days to come across the borde border. [ male announcer ] in blind taste tests, even ragu users chose prego.

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>> bret: the latest reported massacre in syria tops world headlines. activists say forces loyal to bashar assad killed 100 people in rampage in farming village. the government says the garnage never took place. f.b.i. director robert mueller visited libya today. he is said to be trying to get answers in the investigation of last september's terror attack against the u.s. diplomatic facility in benghazi, libya. officials say muller discussed the case with libya's prime minister, justice minbe center and intelligence chief. tonight, another fox news exclusive. leland vittert goes on first of its kind ride-along with elite commando team guarding the dangerous boarder with egypt. >> seen in surveillance video, militant and smugglers used

everything from old-fashioned camel trains to jeep moving weapons from egypt to israel. >> for years the only thing separating the israeli egypt border is the road we're depriving on right now. but the egyptian revolution changed things. there is a steal reinforced fence topped with barbed wire. driving on the road are heavily armed fighters ready for combat at a moment's notice. the groups coming here are an army, they explained. we are ready for them as if we were going to war. talking about the fight a training to combat fighters and jihadist taking over the sinai peninsula in egypt. august 2011, militants came across the fence and blew up a bus on the road to israel southern beaches killing eight. there is 190 miles of board -- 120 miles boarder to guard and 100,000 square miles of barren land scape to fight in. forcing them to be expert in combat and camouflage.

ally armed a pounce on prey they have waited for days. the team forms the first and last line of defense. half of their training is for heading in undercover to arab villages, snatching militants before they can meet the accomplish along the fence. with if political situation in egypt becoming more hostile toward israeli, the men guarding this border realize they have to be right 100% of the time. the men wimping to attack them and the country only have to be right once. >> bret: thank you. army staff sergeant accused of slaughtering 16 afghan villager last year was in a military courtroom near seattle today. he deferred making a plea. the judge said he would order him to undergo mental health evaluation.

the soldier's lawyer says he has been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder. we'll look back at the president's record on actual gun control shrote votes. does the president's gun control initiative compare to some of the defining moments in history? the grapevine is next.

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newtown,be connecticut, and president obama's fight with the gun lobby to some major historical events. "what happened in newtown was probably the worst day in this councilmember's history since 9/11. we found usama bin laden, we tracked him down. surely finding usama bin laden, surely passing civil rights legislation as lyndon johnson was able to do and before that, surely defeating the nazis was a much more formidable task than taking on the fun lobby." schieffer -- the gun lobby." schieffer called the president's speech yesterday one of his best and said the president will have too get his hands dirty to prevent another massacre. a columnist for the "seminole county public examiner" slammed the remarks saying, "whatever do you, mean bob. were no times were fdr, lbj or obama committing any crime against the constitution when they defeated the nazis, passed civil rights legislation or killed bin laden respectively." continuing "a little free advice for bob schieffer, if you feel the need to opine

about historical events on national tv, please get your facts straight." we have pointed out before, president obama's opinions have changed from when he was a u.s. and state senator on the debt ceiling, prosecuting the war on terror and it seems on gun policy. back in 1999 with the shooting at columbine high schoolbe fresh in everyone's minds, the illinois state senate took up a bill that would require adult prosecution for discharging a gun in or near a school. state senator obama was one of five senators to vote present on that legislation, which passed 52-1. the "chicago tribune" called him a "buttless cheap" for missing a vote for other crime legislation later that year. finally parents in wisconsin aring a are vateed a public ohio was indoctrinating in their words their children in what is called "white privilege." the course called "american

diversity" had number of controversial work sheet and messagemessages that a person ss amounts to race baiting. they tell fox news, students were sent on assignment to wal-mart and asked to count number of white and black dolls. the parent added if you're white you're oppressing, if you you're nonwhite you are a victim. school officials say they will evaluate that course before it is taught again. one major goal has been accomplished, marc seigel who works at new york university shows house the school's medical center returned. >> it feels great to have a hospital back up and running. you know, it was a little eerie feeling to walk the halls of a hospital and not see multitude of patients and their families every day. >> one of the major hospitals crippled by hurricane sandy,

they suffered extensive damage, flooded with over 15 million gallons of water, the main campus was shut down for two months. >> when you face catastrophic events and emerge from those events you emerge stronger. if anything were a more united medical center, i am struck by the spirit of the people who are working here. >> as the storm raged, hospital staff rushed evacuate over 300 patients down dark stairwells relying only on battery power now. there is new life in the hauls of the hospital as -- halls of the hospital as key departments reopen, including labor and delivery. >> how did you feel as the hurricane hit and they had to close the hospital? >> nervous. where am i going to have my baby? i was comfortable here. i wentbe to the tour. comfortable coming here and very nervous. then the first day that you opened, my water breaks. >> this week, nyu medical center opened the urgent care center, which is at the heart of medical center.

from here. care flows like arteries out to surgery, to medicine, to pediatrics, to trauma, to obstetrics. >> we will be able to handle heart attacks, strokes, surge call emergencies because we have emergency medicine, and physicians and nurses and the medications that we normally use in the emergency department and the specialists we would normally use. >> the the only limitation, ambulance traffic. >> while it will be another month or so before the sirens are heard at nyu, dean grossman says having the rest of the hospital back is a big relief for the city, weapon a flu epidemic. >> not only are we a national institution but local hospital for the people in mid-town manhattan. it's critically important for to us be up and running. >> grossman says there are important steps to come. >> advancements include a massive natural gas power plant currently under construction which will help sustain power in future storms. >> the way the medical center rose to the occasion, to see heroism and competence and

envision all operating, it's rare in life you get a chance to face a giant storm and come out at the other end a better place. >> in new york, dr. marc seigel, fox news. >> bret: two americans escape but the fate of others is still unknown. the fox all-stars discuss the latest on the hostage drama in algeria after a quick break. [ male announcer ] you've reached the age where you don't back down from a challenge. this is the age of knowing how to make things happen. sowhy let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. 20 million men already have. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away

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because of the fluidity and the fact that there is lot of planning going on, i can not give you any further details at this time about the current situation on the ground. but i can say that more broadly what we are seeing in mali, in algeria, reflects the broader strategic channel. when you deal with these relentless terrorists, life is

not in any way precious to them. but when this incident is finally over, we know we face a continuing ongoing problem. >> bret: we know two americans at the natural gas facility in algeria managed to escape. they are in london now. they managed to get to a flight to get to london. we don't know the fate of other americans there. we know that the algerians with helicopters and special forces stormed this gas plant today. and major battle with islamists, dreamists, happened. several people were killed. we just don't know theout come yet. we do know that this is largely over at this point, but there are a number of people who are unaccounted for and we're trying to get the ground truth of the trauma that has been going on for several days in algeria. meantime, the threat from this islamist extremenist that rion is continuing. let's bring in the panel.

tucker carlson from dailycaller.com. mara liasson, national public radio. syndicated columnist, charles krauthammer. obviously, tucker, good news is two americans we know are safe. we don't know about the others and there could be several owes. >> there is much we don't know. this is what we doe no. it could be a harbinger of other strategy of al-qaeda and terror groups. if you want to call disruption to the united states and west, do you halftime an airliner or disrupt the energy supply? it's easier to do the latter. there are refineries through the gulf, of course. but there is also oil producing nations across the globe that get very little attention and are key to the petroleum supply. indonesia, malaysia, nigeria, guinea. how hard would it be for the terrorist group to disrupt refining in the country and not so hard. not any country so far as i know is protected by u.s. forces. this is a major vulnerability

and could be harbinger to come. >> bret: we had two chairs of committee in the house talking about this today. take a listen, the house foreign relations. >> it's clear that they began this operation before the french began the counter battery work. or begin to send the french foreign legion in. this operation has been planned for some time. clearly there were surveillance, they were obviously trying to figure out the security footprints there and plan their attack. that would take some time. especially at the level and brazenness they undertook in this particular event. >> bret: so they are saying while it's tied to mali, operation of the french undertaking the neighboring mali they say the intelligence is showing it was well planned outside of what was happening in mali. >> right. so it means it is likely to happen again. it has nothing to do with a response to something that just happened by western forces.

but tucker is right. look, they can't hijack airliners now. there are more strongly protected targets and there are tons of targets they can go after. in countries we haven't paid much attention to. it's hard to imagine what u.s. forces could do. go in and protect every oil facility everywhere. this is a metastasiseing problem. >> bret: charles? >> we have an administration that declared when it came in office, an end or at least abolish the phrase "global war on terror." as a way to minimize or it or not to seem anti-islamic or whatever. you can apolish the phrase but it doesn't mean global war on terror seaso isn't here and isnt directed against the west. it is. our own secretary of defense said so earlier today that the terrorism is happening everywhere. it's happening in mali. happening in algeria. obviously in pakistan an afghanistan. so mali, yemen and elsewhere. this is what the bush administration had talked

about and what it created infrastructure to deal with. i think what we have got to understand, in the case of algeria, we ask ourselves why did the algerians attack right away? they went through a war for decade in the '90s with radical islamists who want to take over algeria, bloody a centerrable war. tens of thousands of ted. they weren't about to stand around and create a sound stage for terrorists had they just surrounded it and negotiated. i think they knew very well it would cost a lot of casualties but they were not prepared to do as we do in the west, as we did with the iranian hostage crisis, wait for a year-and-a-half. they struck and i think the news is going to be rather mixed when we hear about the final results. >> bret: at the same time, tucker, you have the f.b.i. director in libya today. apparently asking questions to officials there about the benghazi investigation. >> right. >> bret: which we reported is really not going anywhere. we had this man who was

arrested in tunisia, let go. and there is no one in custody now. and we talked about it the other night perhaps that, too, sends a signal to al-qaeda through the region that emboldens them we haven't taken anyone down for that. >> bret: putting an operating principle for american foreign policy by the way it has been the operating principle, of american foreign policy in decades past attack against any american citizen is attack against the country and will not be tolerated and will be responded to swiftly and certainty. overwhelming show of force. again, details on this are hurricanemurky, as you suggeste. but it's disspiritting to see them stand by and allow the special forces go in and botch the job. again, there is much we don't know a perhaps there were american forces on the scene. from what we know now we didn't respond and they did. that is not a good thing. >> the british have complained and the japanese that the operation went on so quickly

they weren't even informed let alone asked to give any assistance. >> bret: speaking of assistance, now we know that the u.s. is going to provide air lift to the french in to mali. they are going to move troops, french troops to mali. we don't know when are how many but it seems like the u.s. assistance is increasing. >> the assistance is increasing. it raises questions about syria and when and how we choose to intervene, when we think the risks are low or high. we stay out. though the atrocities might be worse. >> bret: where is the line for this president? >> i don't know where the line is. it's squiggly lean. it's different in every situation. >> in syria it's more humanitarian issue. here, it's a question of a vast no man's land that stretches essentially across an empty sahara. that is where this is happening. north part of mali isn't downtown manhattanbe. photographphotographs that you e

aerial space, pictures of, the facility in algeria, there are no houses around there. this is empty land no, man's land. it could be the new haven for these terrorists and i think that is why the entire west. this isn't only america that they are closer and more exposed are going to do something about it, starting with the french acting in mali. >> bret: we are feting ready to get in a time we will hear lofty things about obama foreign policy. we will hear inaugural address and then we are going to hear a lot of confirmation hearings where we will hear a lot of questioning about foreign policy on 30,000 feet. what is the foreign policy? >> here is the policy from three feet. oil is $95 a barrel right now. if it went to $150, $200, you would have more than stagnation, worldwide depression period. the wi we live, it would drop

precipitously. so maybe goal one is secure the energy supply. there are forces acting against that. a lot of people believe energy isn't important. but today it's not only important, but critical to the standard of living. therefore it must be protected period. >> i would say the number one goal is to make sure that these terrorists to not have a haven in no man's land. at least heavily support the french. others who go after them. once established they are a threat to every country in north africa and middle east. europe and us. >> bret: last word. >> no, i agree with that. >> bret: wow! that was the last word. next up, the story symp talking about and we'll talk about it here. breaking news tonight about the college football star. and his fake girlfriend. o as yos customer satisfaction is at 97%. mmmm tasty. and cut! very good. people are always asking me how we make these geico adverts.

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the most beautiful girl i've ever met. not just because of her physical beauty but the beauty of her character. who she is. you take, you know, the love of my life. i wonder how it would bebe like if she were still here. i wonder what tonight would be like if she were here today. >> mantes the victim of the hoax and he will carry that with him for a while. in many ways, manti was the perfect mark. because he is a guy who is so willing to believe in others. >> bret: this is a very strange story. a lot of people are talking about it. notre dame all-american linebacker manti teo about a girlfriend he never had, and

now turns out well, he put out this statement. this is incredibly embarrassing to talk about but over an extended period of time i developed emotional relationship with a woman i met online. we maintained what i thought was authentic relationship by communicating frequentenly online and on the phone and i grew to care deeply about her and realize i was a victim of what was someone's sick joke and constant lies was and is painful and humiliate. in retrospect, i should have been much more cautious if anything good comes of this, i hope is it that others will be far more guarded when they engage with people online than i was. turns out, the "associated press" did some digging. and manti talks twice in interviews after finding out apparently this was a hoax that the girl didn't exist, about his girlfriend. twice. not once, but twice. back with the panel.

white house tid talk about this from the briefing room so we tangentially tied it to washington. sort of. >> in other words, we couldn't resist. >> bret: and we have professional guidance from -- what do you think, charles? >> i did see, hear strange stories when i was a psychiatrist, but this one, i probably resign the case. because the only three explanations, the guy is dangerously naive. deeply deceptive or delusio delusional. dangerously naive, but then how could he have spoken about her twice after he learned it was a hoax? the deceptive still is out there. but it requires some craziness to think that this isn't going to be discovered. this is a person who dies. it's checkable. and the last is i mean you almost have to go that he is delusional, but obviously there is nothing in his life that would indicate he is. i mean, when he goes after a

quarterback to tackle him he doesn't, you know, run after a ghost at the other end of the field. the guy who lives in the real world it seems. i have no explanation. i guess the real question is the only one we ever ask since watergate. what did you know and when did he know it? who was behind this? >> he certainly knew it before he stopped talking about it. which is the bizarre thing. the motivation of the handlers are easier to describe because they are involved in the star-making machinery and want him to be sympathetic and the amazing back story they can. it's just a disgrace. this comes after lance armstrong, which is different. that was true illegal activit activity. but why this guy was so invested in the story and have to continue it even after he knew it was a hoax is just inexplicable to me. >> bret: tucker? >> it's explicable if it's

part of publicity campaign designed to gen up publicity prior to winning the heisman. not saying is it but that would make sense considering the sports coverage is not just about the story itself but the back story. not a long jumper but a survivor. she came this far. we learn so much about the lives of the athletes and all of this is designed to make us sympathize with them personally. he spoke about the death of the girlfriend. i don't think we ought to assume it was a woman who supposedly died the same day as his grandmother and that means he sympathetic victim. he could be the victim of the hoax and also a perpetrator. this is checkable but the point is nobody checked it. many sports reporters doesed a latory journalism that doesn't contain checking. it's designed to clobber over the athlete, not journalism. >> bret: how does this end? he is up for the n.f.l. draft. >> it will end on oprah. >> good guess! >> bret: she gets them all.

>> in this case, he is still a great athlete, unlike lance armstrong. in this case, he is still -- >> now he is a great weird athlete. >> bret: we were going to save it for the friday lightning round but too much to talk about. okay. that is it for the panel but stay tuned to see which politician is making headlines now.

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>> bret: finally tonight, politicians can, of course, get in a lot of trouble by saying the wrong things, sticking their foot in their mouth and, of course, by being photographed in a bad spot. the democratic mayor of los angeles, has recently taken some heat for a photo showing him apparently partying with charlie sheen. something he has been asked about a lot recently and he pretty much dismissed it. >> mr. mayor, there have been scores of question about that infamous twitter picture that came from charlie sheen. >> infamous. i said i take pictures with virtually everyone. i have never said no in seven